


Hey now, it’s ya birthday

by starbucks22



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Gen, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:20:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23099980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starbucks22/pseuds/starbucks22
Summary: Bucky Barnes, faced with a confusing celebration over his 102nd birthday, tries to accept the fact that his boneheaded best friend really just will NOT do things the simple way, no matter what.Steve Rogers, on the other hand, just wants the best for his best friend.Natasha, Sam, and Tony are just here for the chaos of it all.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Hey now, it’s ya birthday

**Author's Note:**

> hap borth Bonky
> 
> okay but fr how old is Bucky actually? I heard he’s 102 from Instagram so I’m using that here, but really, I’m just spitballing.
> 
> hope y’all enjoy whatever this little fluff drabble is.

“Is this really necessary?”

“Yes.” Steve Rogers leaves absolutely no room for any argument- or at least, he tries to.

“No,” Bucky Barnes protests as a blindfold is haphazardly shoved onto his face. He tries to shoot an unimpressed glare at his childhood best friend, but it doesn’t quite go as well when he can’t even see through the fabric covering his eyes. “What are you even doing right now? All you said was, and I quote, ‘We’re giving you a good birthday if it’s the last thing I do.’”

“I can’t tell you yet! I have to show you!” Steve replies energetically. Bucky doesn’t reply to that verbally- he simply flings his arm around in an attempt to slap the other man. When he hears an (annoyingly) unruffled sounding “Ow,” he knows that his flesh arm connected with the blonde’s face. Mission accomplished. 

Unfazed, Steve begins dragging the other man along without giving even a single clue as to where they are going, because that’s totally a smart thing to do when dealing with a traumatized, formerly brainwashed old man. “Come on! It’ll be fun.”

“Your type of ‘fun’ concerns me. This is coming from the guy who  jumped out of a moving helicopter.”

Steve pales and grips the cheesy birthday hat that’s been in his hands for the past half hour. “You know about that?” 

“ Yes.”

“You’ve... you’ve never mentioned it, is all.” He knows what that means. He’s in the for the longest lecture that he’s received since his momma was still around. Rest in piece, Steve Rogers. “How did you even find out about that?”

“I have friends in high places,” deadpans Bucky. Considering the fact that Natasha Romanov was a majority of the reason  why  the superhero leapt out of the moving hunk of metal like an airborne ballerina, the dark-haired veteran is probably referring to her. “You’re just lucky that I haven’t gotten started with you yet.”

“Gotten started with who yet? Did the Star Spangled Banner finally get on your bad side?” a startling voice enters the mix. Tony Stark nods in the older of the two’s direction, completely ignoring the fact that he is blindfolded. He just continues on as if all of them can see what he’s doing. “How you doing, Buckeroo?”

Bucky wisely doesn’t comment on the shiny new nickname he’s been given. He just seems to accept it and move on. “I’d be doing a heck of a lot better if I wasn’t being yanked along to my presumed death.”

“I’m not going to kill you,” scoffs the one doing the pushing and pulling. It’s being done with a major degree of difficulty, despite his massive size. Trust goes a long way, but stubbornness and the refusal to move can definitely do something to combat it. “Why would I kill you?”

“Really?” is all he says. “Really. You’re serious?”

“Uh... yes?” 

“Steve-“

“ALRIGHT!” Tony loudly interrupts, clapping his hands together as he does so. “We gonna get this show on the road, or...?”

“I still don’t even know what you two idiots are up to,” grumps Bucky, purposely putting on a show as he acts perfectly clueless. He crosses his arms. “For all that I know, you two could be over there plotting my demise, or something.”

“I would  never,”  replies Steve as earnestly as he can manage, which puts quite a lot of sincere feelings into his voice. If he’s taking the dark joke a lot harder than he should be, nobody calls him out on it. 

“You’d have reason to.” The whisper is so quiet that none of the three, not even the ones with the super special serum enhanced hearing, can really comprehend it. 

Steve glances over at Tony, who’s inching away from them all as subtly as he can. He resembles someone trying and failing to perform the Cupid Shuffle. 

“ We,”  the younger of the two stresses, “Would never. Right?” When he doesn’t get a response, or any acknowledgement at all, he tries again. “ Right?”

“Steve,” yet another newcomer is saying as she creeps out from the shadows, “Just let it be.”

“But Natasha-“

“No.” Natasha frowns at him, then aims a significantly less severe glare at Tony, (which is paired with a know-it-all look,) before smiling once at Bucky. “Happy birthday. We should probably all head inside now. Is it alright if I touch you?”

“Why?” he replies suspiciously. He acknowledges that the red head is trying to give him an out from the awkward tension that is slowly trying to prevail, but that doesn’t mean he just fully trusts her. He’s pretty sure that she’s in on whatever half-baked scheme is best friend got himself into, but that doesn’t exactly leave him at ease. “What do you want to do?”

He can’t see it, but her gaze softens. “What those two well meaning bozos were  trying  to do was get you into the living room so you can find the surprise that they’ve cooked up for you.”

“NATASHA!” screeches both men in unison.

“Oh come on,” she replies mildly. She motions over at Bucky. “He was the Winter Soldier. We’re spies. Do you honestly think that he  wasn’t  going to figure you out? He probably already knows what’s inside.”

All three of them shift their taxes over at the man himself, who only shrugs.

“I don’t know everything,” he offers. “It actually took more effort to  not  know exactly what’s going on than it would for me to just ask for information.” 

“Great,” says Steve sarcastically as Tony facepalms in the background before walking away and leaving the three of them alone. “You’re no help!”

“I’m not trying to be!” Tony calls back before fading away entirely. 

“Steve,” Bucky says as a sudden thought occurs to him. “On a scale of one to ten, how done up is whatever you’ve pieced together in there?”

He gets two very different answers:

“Two.”

“Probably a seven in the grand scheme of things- or, rather, his grand scheme of things. He’s very dramatic.”

He hears the, “He’s very dramatic,” and just instantly assumes that Natasha is telling the truth more so than their now sullen friend.

“Steve... why did you do all of that for me?”

“You don’t even know what I did yet!” comes a very indignant sounding reply. “I could have just got some store bought cookies and called it a day! I can do simple things, too.”

“You haven’t laid back and done something the easy way even once in your life. When you hear the term ‘Go big or go home’ you go big. Every. Single. Time. Buddy, I’m begging you, for just this one time,  go home.”

“Yeah, you’re a bit too late on that one,” he finally seems to admit. “Natasha‘s right.”

Natasha preens. “Yeah. You both should listen to me more.”

(They both ignore her.)

“Bucky,” begins Steve in a softened tone of voice. He lays his hand gently on the other man’s shoulder. “I just want you to be happy.”

I just want you to be happy.  Bucky has a feeling that isn’t just about the birthday party anymore. He almost says as much, too, before yet  another  Avenger decides that it’s time to put in their own two cents.

“Hey, so, are you guys coming, or should I just eat your cake all by myself?”

Bucky’s had enough. He tosses his blindfold off of his head and onto the ground- now that he has a better idea of what’s going on, it’s rendered useless anyway- “You eat my birthday cake and you die, birdbrain. I can’t afford to go out and buy a new one.”

Sam Wilson frowns at him for more reasons than one. “Okay, for one? That’s rude. And for two, you actually can afford it. You’re literally rich.”

“Since when?” He doesn’t believe it.

“Since  I  sweet talked the government into paying Cap the money he’s been owed since forever ago,” Tony explains as he pops his head out of the now open doorway. He juts a thumb over at Bucky, who’s frowning at him. “Then, once the United States no longer wanted your head on a platter as much as they used to, they went, ‘Eh, why the heck not?’ and payed you, too. I didn’t convince them on that one, though. You’re on your own.” 

His head disappears from their vision as he once again leaves the small group alone. 

“Anyway,” says Natasha. “Let’s get a move on, yeah?”

Bucky glances over at Steve and slings an arm over the blonde’s shoulder. “You did this all for me. After everything that’s happened, I just don’t... get it, really.”

Steve looks at Bucky. In a tone so honest and sincere that the older of the two isn’t quite sure how to handle it, he says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world- 

“Because I love you.” 

**Author's Note:**

> IT IS MARCH 10th why is Ao3 ONLY saying that it’s match 11th.
> 
> For the record I wrote and posted this on March 10th.
> 
> and I am BITTER abt how the falcon and winter soldier show paused filming


End file.
